Connecting member.



M. M. WALLACE.

CONNECTING MEMBER.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.18,.-1916.

1,943,018. Patented 0ct.16,1917.

M- M-WHLLHCE vice adapted for fastening the ends of a pnrrnn s'ra'rns rnrnnr came I ILTON IVI. wnmnonorneun nuLon, TEXAS.

coNNEorINe MEMBER. N

To all whom it mayconccrmg N Be it known that I, MIL'IQN NM. WALL CE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Agua Dulce,.in the countyof Nueces and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Connecting Members, of which the following is aspect fication, reference being had to the; accompanying drawings. N

This inventionmelates :to devices in the nature of links or buckles, whereby two ele- Nn ents may befldetachably engaged or con-N nected to eachbther and particularly to a i connectingmember formed of two light oooperating section's adapted to have detachable interlocking engagement with each other. i

NThe general ages of ay an l. a the provision of device offfthis; character whole in one formss particularly, adapted for repalrmg chainsor l nking shame to each other andwhichlmay be modifiedwso N t as to-be used asbuckles or fora varietyof other purposes such as hitching tugs to swingletrees, connecting N machinery belts, or as belt buckles for waistbelts.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device of this kind formed of two sections or link membersowhich are duplicates of eachother'whc by only one form of link member may be made and then i i two link members joined together to form a complete link or buckle. Other objects will appear in of the following description. p

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-- Figure 1 is atop plan view of a connect- N 1 ing member constructed in accordance with did my invention, showing the two sections of the connectingmember opened out. l

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the construction shown in 1; Fig. 3 is a topjplan view of the connecting .member in its closed and locked position;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4*4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the 1 sections of the connecting member; and

N Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing the debelt. N N N u N 7 Referring to these figures it will; be seen from Fig. 1 that my device comprises two interlocked connecting members. These Specification of Letters Patent. 1 Patient Application filed aga e 13,1916. serial o. 126,353.

ea Hot. 16, 1917..

members are exactly like each other. Each member comprises a body 10 formed to provide an open loop, where the device is to be used for connecting chains for instance At the open end of the loop the body is provided with oppositely disposed outwardly, upwardly and inwardly extending flanges constituting guides 11 which project upward from one face of the body. That portion of the body which, projects-beyond theguides constitutesa tongue 12 which isadapted to I be inserted and have sliding engagement in the guides of a complementary member. One of the sections of the complete connecting member is illustrated in Fig. 5. N

Now when it is desired to form a link fromN two. members constructed as in Fig. 5, Nor to connect the two linking or. fastening members to each other, the tonguesare disposed, as illustrated in Fig. ,2, against eachother, the gu des on one member. facing 1n the opposite chrect on from the guides on the, other member and with the open ends ofjthe; loops extending gin-opposite directions. The members are then slidingly-engaged with each otherand pushed up until the inner ends, of the guides' abut against each other when the members, will have the.

positionshownin Fig. 3. Itis, of course, to; Y

beundertsood that the links 1301* the chain to be connected, in case the device is to be used for connecting broken chains or con wnectmg two lengths of chains, are to be the course threaded each upon one of the loops.

With the parts disposed as illustrated in Fig. 3, it is obvious that a pull in opposite directions upon the links 13 will cause the abutments 11 to press against each other and it is impossible to open the link formed of the two members. This link will be as N strong or stronger than any other links of stood that it may be used for other purposes and that the form of the device may be Va? used as harness buckles or belt buckles and be used for hitching tugs to svvingletreesg connecting machinery belts, etc. In Fig. 6

I show how the device may be used torfconnecting belts, as for instance Waist belts;----

thetongues of the sections being faced against each other and the tongue of one section inserted *in the guides of the other The sections of the connecting member are constructed in exactly the same manner as the device shown in '5 exceptthat'the tongue is notslotted and the belt sections 14 are attached to the faces of the'gui-des. It Will be obvious that the device may be varied in many Ways Without departing from the fspirit of the invention and that it may bemade' of any suitable material consistent'with the Work to be done;

Havingdescribed my invention, What I claimisw" i 1 As an articleofmanufacture, 'a con'-' nectin'g member comprising a tongue having guide flanges at oneend thereof and overhanging one face'of the tongue,the tongue being adapted to be inserted'in the guides of -a'-similar member and the guides being adapted to receive the tongue of thesimilar member; I I J 2; A connecting member comprising'two complementary sections, each section having a tonguejand guides overhanging one face thereof at ne;end of the't'ongue, thetongues' of the sections being-s faced; against each other andgtheitongue ofeach section inserted in the guides'ofthe other section with the ends of the guides abutting against a h othen w a 3.1 A connecting member comprisin 63 mung half: p each half loophaving guides at its open endand on one'face, for

engagement vvith thei other loop, said; guides Copies of this patent -may "-be obtained for engaged with each other, and] With the guides; g

4. A connecting'member consisting of two complementary sections, each comprising a longitudinally extending fiat tongue and oppositely dispos'ed tongue guides formed on one face of the tongue at one end thereof,

guides abutting complementary sections, each section "com prising a body formed With a fiatlongitudi nally' extendingiopen loop jconstitu-ting'a tongue, said bodysat the open end of the loop being formed with oppositely disposed guides onone face of the body, thetongues of the sections being faced against each other, and the tonguejof one section inserted in the guides of the 'otherf section with the ends of the guides'abutting 'againstfea'ch h ,7

' 6. A connecting membei" comprising 'tvv'o complementary section's, ea'ch section having a tongue and guide having a passage eX-' tending entirely through it, the tonguesfof the s'ecti'ons being disposed in parallelrelationiwith thetongue of each section inserted through the guide: of the other section, and with the "ends of the guides abutting against each otherjand the tonguesextendingiii opposite directions b'eyon'd saictgtiides, is

' In testimony" whereof I hereunto aflixmy signature in the presenceof tu d-Witnesses? i r MILTQN warmers; Wit-iiesses I Joa'smn; FRAivKfE. 

